'I have no regrets'

Law student confesses to killing Rabin

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The man who confessed that he shot and
killed Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin told police
Sunday that he was "satisfied."

Yigal Amir, a 27-year-old Jewish law student, told police
that he had "no regrets" and was acting on the "orders of
God." According to Israeli radio, when he was told that
Rabin died in surgery after being shot in the arm and back,
Amir said, "I'm satisfied."

Amir, who is said to have connections to Jewish extremist
groups, is an unmarried reserve soldier in the army's elite
Golani brigade. He lives in the town of Herzeliya, which
lies just north of Tel Aviv.

Amir is a third-year law student at Bar Ilan University in
Tel Aviv. He is said to have been in contact with activists
from the right-wing group "Eyal," headed by fellow student
Avishai Ravid. The "Eyal" group branched off of the radical
anti-Arab Kach movement, which was founded by the late Rabbi
Meir Kahane.

But Ravid said that although Amir is known among the group,
he is not a member and that "Eyal" is not responsible for the
assassination. Ravid also said that the group condemned the
action.

Another fellow student of the confessed assassin told Israeli
radio that Amir became increasingly angered by Muslim
militant attacks in Israel. The student said that Amir had
made verbal threats against Rabin over a long period of time.
He was said to have distributed anti-government leaflets and
attended anti-government rallies.

Although government spokesman Uri Dromi linked Amir to the
right-wing, police said that Amir told them he acted alone.
They also report that Amir allegedly attempted to kill Rabin
on two other occasions.

Although Amir says he was a lone gunman, authorities are
expected to crack down on right-wing extremist groups.

Security had been tightened around Rabin as concerns
increased that harsh right-wing rhetoric would stop Israel
from handing over the West Bank to the PLO.

Rabin was reportedly upset over recent protests in which he
was called a Nazi. Much of the intense demonstrations were
based in Jewish settlements around Hebron, the only West Bank
town where Israelis live among the Palestinians.

Political scientist and a former Mossad official Yossi Alpher
said that many were acutely aware of the danger of violence
by extremists in recent days. "Sadly, many non-violent
politicians on the right were encouraging extremists to adopt
violent means because they themselves were using extremist
rhetoric," he said.

An expert on Israel's religious right said that members have
a "simplistic" view of the peace process. Menachen Friedman,
a professor at Bar Ilan University, said that right-wing
extremists believe that they can stop the entire process by
killing a leader.